How can Chinese herbal medicine help relieve stress, anxiety and insomnia? By working with your body and your mind… Your Shen or the energy of ‘mind and spirit’, might be key to your solving your response to stress and poor sleep. In Chinese medicine Shen is closely associated with your conscious awareness and resides in your heart meridian. What’s going on with your Shen? An insight into managing your stress and sleeping better  During your day, Shen can become agitated by strong emotions, which can result in nervousness, irritability, tension and palpitations. Stabilising Shen, calms the mind and spirit to relieve symptoms such as mild anxiety, nervousness, irritability and restlessness. Your sleep quality also relates to the activities of Shen. During our waking state, Shen is channelled by the Heart organ-meridian system to the brain, and then returns to the heart meridian during sleep.  At bedtime your Shen needs to settle back down, so you can sleep soundly and restore your nervous system. Thissettling down, is vital for a sound night sleep. Settle your Shen with Chinese medicines for a healthy stress response and a good sleep The Chinese medicines Magnolia (Hou Po), Polygala (Yuan Zhi)and Poria (Fu Ling) work together to settle Shen. The Ayurvedic herbs Sacred Basil (tulsi) and Withania (ashwagandha) also enhance resistance and adaptation to stress, important for supporting a healthy stress response.

Mr Vitamins recommends

FUSION Health® Stress & Anxiety to calm your mind and spirit and help relieve mild anxiety, mental stress and nervousness. When looking for a herbal formula to address sleep problems, be sure to choose a supplement specially formulated to not only provide effective hypnotic (sleep inducing), sedative and relaxing actions but also correct the flow of Shen to and from the brain during consciousness and sleep. The synergistic blend of Zizyphus, Passionflower, Albizia, Polygala, Poria, Biota and Schisandra can assist in ‘settling the Shen’ or specifically calm the mind and spirit, and clear the senses to promote a sound and restful sleep, without causing day-time drowsiness. Look for them in combination, as the synergy created between several herbs invariably delivers better and longer lasting results than a single herb can offer in isolation.

Mr Vitamins recommends

Fusion Health® Sleep to calm the mind and help you sleep. FUSION Health® Stress & Anxiety combines well with FUSION Health® Sleep. Find out more about FUSION Health® Stress & Anxiety and Fusion Health® Sleep See our 6 top tips to stay stress free, see more natural stress less tips As always, whatever questions or concerns you have regarding your health, stress relief and sleep, all you have to do is drop by Mr Vitamins and ‘Ask a Naturopath’.